


Many Things to Learn

by DeanWinchesterIsTrans



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Character Study, sort of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-17
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-12-03 11:47:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11531580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeanWinchesterIsTrans/pseuds/DeanWinchesterIsTrans
Summary: When the Master first came to Earth, she had many things to get used to.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All the next chapters are like, elaborations/short stories off each Thing™ just sayin.  
> Also the other chapters are written better, just trust me on this and give me a chance, please.

When it comes to Earth, there were many things to learn.

Weather patterns, for one. It never stormed heavily on Gallifrey, Time Lords had moved past that.

Freedom, for another. There was never much choice back home. Marry this person, go to school in this Chapter, have this job, live here, do this do this do this. On Earth, you could do anything. Be anything. It's all she's ever wanted. Control over herself. That's why she chose her name.

Starfish. Those things are pretty weird.

Therapy. Physical injury was just fixed by borrowing future regeneration energy, no need for physical therapy of any sort. Mental health issues would just be hushed up, and if word ever got out that a family member was anything less than perfect, they would be outcasted from their family, sometimes the entire planet. No need for therapy when a problem could just be removed. Missy found that she preferred Earth to Gallifrey in this respect, not that she would ever let anyone know that, especially not him.

Haste. In Gallifrey, you have an eternity to do anything you like, which usually means sitting around doing nothing while untold centuries slip past. On Earth, people just shrivel up and die from the moment they're born, so they run fast, cram as much life as they can into their fragile, dying existence before it's too late. It's admirable.

Diagnoses. When problems can be removed, there would be no need to label them, to learn more about them. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. Neurodivergent. Major Depressive Disorder. Each new term she read felt like a bullet to the chest. Time Lords weren't supposed to have issues, and these blundering primitives identified them, categorized them, helped those suffering with them. Even the closest Gallifreyan word for disorder also more commonly meant disease, mistake. The concept of someone receiving help, instead of disownment took a lot of getting used to.

Religion. For a Time Lord, it is known that when one dies permanently, they are uploaded to the Matrix. Humans don't have that. They have belief systems they cling to, and they pray they're right. She sometimes thinks it would be nice to have faith like that. If not in a higher power, then perhaps in a person. She would just have to find a Who.

Ice cream. All of Time and Space and Time Lords never considered bringing any of this back to Gallifrey? Really? Dusty old fools.

Silence. The most humans could usually ever get was faint impressions off another living mind, and it was rare to ever run across one that could even do that. Humans are very loud and noisy thinkers, but it was a bit relaxing not having to keep shields up around her mind to avoid mental eavesdrop all the time.

Touching. Really, all the touching. Shaking hands, hugging, kissing people you fancy, it was all so weird. Time Lords avoided physical contact like it was the plague. It was far too intimate, letting someone have direct contact with your mind. Contact just wasn't safe, only done by those young, dumb, rebellious, or all three. Like crossing the street without looking both ways, or trying discount sushi.

Cyrillic alphabets. It was one thing to read it occasionally, but seeing it everywhere was a tad bit overwhelming at first.

Scent. Earth smells like an old sweatshop filled with corpses, thrown in a cave, left to simmer for a couple millennia. Okay, maybe she was over-exaggerating. A tiny bit. It still smelled stronger than anything she was used to, okay?

Stars. She wasn't sure which was more disorienting, a set of stars entirely different from her stars, or the light pollution in some centuries masking her ability to see this planet's foreign stars at all. She couldn't see Kasterberous even on the clearest nights. The worst part wasn't that she couldn't see it, the worst was not knowing if Earth was too far, or if the War had wiped it out of the sky entirely.

Care. She sees it everywhere. Mothers and fathers with children, placing kisses on scraped knees like empty promises. Partners holding hands, promising eternity when humans can't even begin to grasp the meaning of the word. Grandparents with grandchildren, passing down knowledge and silly stories. Hell, even some humans walking dogs. Compassion and love, all things foreign to her. She's not certain if it started with her having no compassion, thus receiving none, or if it started with never being cared for, so she never knew how to show care when she loved. Humans. The most brutal monsters of them all, but they still have more love, and place more value on life than any musty, ancient senator in the Capitol would.

Atmosphere. Earth had a higher oxygen content than Gallifrey, which made her dizzy sometimes. There wasn't nearly as much pollution on Gallifrey, either, and in some places, it grew so humid she felt like she was choking.

Language. The Doctor had always been better at Earth languages than her, especially Earth English. Sometimes, a human would talk so fast she couldn't keep up, and she would have to pretend to understand them to save face.

Tenses. Past, present, future. In Earth languages they were just all too limited, too restricting. There's no word to describe 'happening at every moment in time simultaneously.' Nothing for 'an event that happened, then never existed in the first place.' Not enough words, none specific enough to describe Time in its entirety. Not for the lack of trying on the Doctor's behalf, though. 'Wibbly-wobbly' and 'timey-wimey' don't cut it. Even with his rather creative amalgamations of words, she still had the tendency to skew the tenses of Earth verbs. She hated being wrong, but slipping up on Terran languages was so easy, and getting it right so difficult.

Colors. Blue sky, green grass. Seriously, what the hell? Where's all the orange?

The Doctor. He's everywhere on this planet, and it's hard to go anywhere and not see him. That took a lot of getting used to.


	2. Weather Patterns

Lightning shattered through the sky. Rain was pouring so heavily as if to drown the world. The Master faintly remembered the Doctor telling a story dealing with that subject, but it was so long ago he was unable to recollect whether the story was fact or fiction. Needless to say, he was a bit concerned.

Thunder boomed, sound catching up to light, and he flinched involuntarily. He was fairly new to this incarnation, which had the misfortune of appearing to be a young adult, instead of a form that would gain any respect on Earth. He didn't get much positive aspects from this form, but he did imagine that people would make funnier faces when he killed them. Especially those who tried to take pity on the 'poor lost soul, just a boy, really, just like my grandson.'

He decided against immediately testing his theory of their dying expressions, seeing as the little old woman tugging on his arm, trying to show him pictures of her grandchildren, had been very kind to him. He had been walking through town when the storm had hit, soaking him immediately. His TARDIS was on the far side of town, and he was struggling to make it through the pouring rain and cutting wind.

"Young man?" she had called, "Are you lost?"

He paused, shielding his eyes from the stinging rain. He had considered ignoring the old woman and soldiering on through the storm, but then again, his TARDIS was very far away, and even the almighty Time Lords aren't immune to freezing cold rain, no matter how hard he ignored it.

She had been kind enough to provide him with a change of clothes, and a warm place to stay until the storm passed. Humans must really be stupid, if they were willing to give away vital supplies with just any stranger, he thought. He still appreciated it, though, even though it was an idiotic gesture of kindness.

"Where are you from, young man?" she asked. He considered sneering and replying that it was none of her business, but she spoke with steel in her tone, a remnant of a bygone commander. Her past remained a mystery to him, but she commanded respect in a way he was deeply envious of.

"I'm a long way from home," he admitted. There. Not a lie, but not more information than he was comfortable with. He realized he had no idea where he was, or when he was. He figured he was on Earth, but he had really no idea beyond that. He knew the woman was speaking English, but that still didn't necessarily narrow it down much, seeing as he knew next to nothing of Earth culture.

She didn't press for him to elaborate, but she did ask, "Do your folks know you're here?" She seemed to know his response before he said it, but was still asking for some reason beyond him.

He paused before answering, trying to remember what the word 'folks' meant. Oh, right. Parents, family. "No," he said, unable to meet her eyes. He bit his tongue, keeping himself from adding, 'but they certainly aren't missing me.' Lightning streaked across the sky. "I'm--" He jumped as thunder sounded like a gunshot, far closer than the last one. "--looking for a friend, actually."

The woman nodded like that made all the sense in the world. "You shouldn't be afraid of the thunder, dear. It's only the angels bowling," she informed him out of nowhere.

He was about to protest that he was definitely not scared, but fell silent, wondering about what she had just said. He had only the faintest understanding of what those words meant separately, but together they made no sense at all. It might've made her dislike him if he didn't understand, or it might've just been embarrassing, so he didn't ask.

"You can tell how far away a storm is by counting the seconds between the lightning flash, and the thunder," she added. "The amount of seconds of a delay between the two is how many miles out a storm is."

"Thank you," he said. They never covered this sort of thing in Academy books of Earth. Maybe that's why the Doctor always preferred first hand experiences.

They talked for a few hours more, waiting for the storm to clear. The woman showed him several more well-worn photos of her extended family, and he told her about the stars. No details about any alien life, just the beauty of the cosmos, or 'heaven' as she continually referred to it.

Once the storm dissipated, he went to leave, and she sent him on his way with a kiss on the cheek and a 'goodbye, angel.' She never even asked his name, and he never hers. Perhaps that was for the best.

A rainbow arced hazily across the sky, and the startlingly blue sky was reflected in several puddles of various sizes scattered about on the road. Birds hopped and chirped, picking at worms brought to the surface by the downpour. The Master grinned. He reached the edge of the town, and turned into the woods. A half-collapsed tree trunk hummed slightly at his approach. His smile widened, and he ran a hand over the rough bark affectionately. His fingers caught a catch in the wood, and a door slid open, revealing the console room for a Type Forty-Five TARDIS.

"Let's go somewhere else," he said, starting the takeoff sequence. "Somewhere with less storms, please." It was considered childish to talk to one's Time Ship, but he had picked up the habit a long time ago from and old friend, and-- how does that Earth saying go? -- old habits die hard.


	3. Freedom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Upon writing this, I discovered I didn't know much of anything about famous dictatorships. Serves me right for not paying any attention in history class, I suppose.

While Gallifreyans weren't known to be quite as passive and obedient as those from Tivoli, or similar planets, free will wasn't exactly considered as much of a virtue as it was on Earth. Marriages and other alliances were arranged for solidifying political power. For families of higher status, children had all their lives mapped out for them. One of the first few words a child of Gallifrey learns is loosely translated into Earth English as 'yes, sir.'

Earth natives were horrified by the idea of such things. Their stories of terrible dystopias nearly all involved being stripped of free will, no matter if that loss was clearly in their best interests. Stories like 1984, and other dystopian novels were required reading in certain school systems. A Wrinkle In Time, with IT, and Camazotz, and the Darkness. 1984 with Big Brother, and the Party, and the Thought Police. Fahrenheit 451 with firemen starting fires, and burning books, instead of putting them out. Cautionary tales for those too bored in history class to pay attention to the truth of past and present authoritarian rule.

Humans seemed to have the wish for unrestricted choice coded in their very DNA. They always seemed to overthrow any dictatorship, or overturn any rule they did not wish for themselves. Whether through violent revolutions, or peaceful protests, anything surpressing their so called basic rights would eventually be overthrown.

Dictatorships, unfair laws, invasions, any assortment of cruelties were all eventually stomped to the ground by humanity's insistence on choosing their fate.

The Old Regime. King Louis XVI. Neglectful monarchy overthrown in one of the most famous Earth revolutions. The French Revolution. The Doctor's favorite time period in his first body, if the Master remembered correctly. Of course, the French traded the oppression of a monarchy for the dictatorship of Napoleon, but it's the thought that counts, really.

Adolph Hitler. A man of horrible, terrifying, disgusting deeds. Overthrown in a War that reached nearly every corner of the world.

Julius Caesar. Wanted the throne, but Rome disagreed. Stabbed twenty-three times.

Segregation in America. Peaceful protests, met with senseless violence.

Humans smeared in multicolor paint, parading through the streets with signs, begging and protesting their right to get married.

The Dalek invasion of the twenty-second century. One of the dictatorships the Doctor helped to end, but the main leading force was the humans. Always the humans.

Wherever the Master went, he saw humans reacting violently to oppression, and it caused him to reconsider his view of his home planet. The question of 'but, why?' was not nearly asked as much as it is on Earth. 'Why shouldn't I question authority?' 'Why can't I break the non-interference policy, if it is to help?' 'Why do I have to follow these laws?' 'Why do I have to obey?' 'How am I any different from a Dalek if I have no choice but to obey orders?'

He also took a moment to re-evaluate what precautions he must take before setting himself up as a ruler of some sort on this planet, if he were ever to do such a thing. Humans needed to accept an authority willingly, but sometimes even that failed, as he would learn far later on in his own personal timeline with the Monks.

Revolution after revolution all blended together from a non-linear, non-subjective point of view. There was always a controlling power, there were always humans brave enough, or dumb enough to rebel. Revolutions did occur on Gallifrey occasionally, but they were not talked about, celebrated like they were on Earth.

The primary difference between revolutions of Earth, and of Gallifrey were that those of Earth were talked about, remembered. Revolutions on Gallifrey were unseemly blips on the past, stories better left untold.

The only socially acceptable revolution was Rassilon's triumph over the Pythia, hauling the Universe from their warm, dark magic, to the cold light of science. And even then, it was rarely discussed due to the event's proximity to the Dark Times, which were supposedly forbidden to discuss, of course.

After Rassilon's rise to power, there were no revolutions, no uprisings. They just simply weren't allowed to exist. The revolts in the colonies? The revolt against the President led by the Master? Nope, never heard of them. The primary exception to the 'if we don't talk about it, it didn't happen' rule were renegade Time Lords. Time Lords that stole, or misappropriated a time ship and ran away. The Doctor was the main reason they couldn't be ignored, which the Master slightly resented, but also admired. Nonetheless, anything deviating from 'normal' was left undocumented, a rumor, a whisper, a myth.

Humans admired questioning, autonomous thought, and free will. Most Gallifreyans, but certainly not the renegades, admired those who would sit down, shut up, and take orders without hesitation. Having grown up in the environment of the latter, the Master had difficulty adjusting to the freedom offered on Earth, but it was a welcome change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I probably owe my life to the people who set up the Gallifreyan history wiki page.


	4. Starfish

She was investigating an odd signal pulsing from the aquarium, she swears, nothing else. But... she had gotten sidetracked looking over the exhibits, especially one in particular.

Judging by the half endearing, half irritating shouts from tiny children around her, these things were called starfish, or Patrick, but she wasn't quite sure what they meant by that. Judging by the plaques by the tanks, they were called sea stars, and were not, in fact, fish at all.

The thing was, they looked like Kaled mutants, the creatures inside the Daleks. Well, they were more varied in color, had less eyes than a Dalek, and spoke a lot less, so there's those differences, at least. She wasn't even sure if they were capable of speech.

Kaled mutants were weird, but harmless ones were even weirder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry abt the short chapter! It was just meant to be more of a silly thing than anything else, but I don't think I did all too well with that rip


	5. Therapy

Humans were astonishingly fragile. She knew they only had one heart, and they died and died and died so easily, but seeing it in action was stunning.

Another unexpected variable was how quickly they bounced back from such things. Well, not how quickly per say, but how resolutely. Broken arm? Put it in a cast. Head trauma? Rest up a couple days. Missing appendage? Let's see what we can do.

Funnily enough, they continued care even after the issue had mostly healed. Physical therapy to work back up strength, to get used to a new prosthetic, or for the strangest things.

Speech therapy was one thing he never grew accustomed to. If one had a speech impediment on Gallifrey, they just... avoided speaking, and hoped for better luck next regeneration. As he considered it more, Gallifrey's rules on that were ridiculous.

Purely mental therapy was just as foreign to him. Gallifreyan attitudes towards mental health may sound ridiculous, but, well, just look at Gallifrey's politics. Does that really look like a planet full of people who decide to directly face problems directly? No, no it does not. So they did what children of Gallifrey do best: hush up the issue, ignore it, hope it gets better, then cover it up when it inevitably blows up in their face.

So, no. No mental therapy there, because that would mean admitting an issue first. Admitting a fault. And flaws are not accepted on Gallifrey. As a renegade, the Master had already been booted out of the 'acceptable society' portion of Gallifrey, but the habit was still hard to break out of, as most childhood habits are.

Sometimes he would look down upon a human for going to such things, for trying to help themselves, but then he'd catch himself doing it, and rethink. Then, he'd just sneer at them for being a disgusting human, and move on with his life. He's a villain, yes, but he at least has some moral code. Usually. A skewed code, but he follows a few rules at least. He'll burn the whole world, but it won't be because of the habits of the creatures inhabiting it. Well, unless they're just being really annoying, in which case bye-bye.

Anyways, he preferred Earth over Gallifrey when it came to therapy, and things like that. Maybe on Earth he would've had a chance at a normal life. He tries not to dwell on such thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this at 3am sitting at the airport go easy on me.


	6. Haste

Humans had a ridiculously short lifespan, she knew this, but did they really need to be so loud about it?

They were always in such a rush. She figured that was a good thing. She could never stand still long enough to fit the likes of the Time Lords, unless she had some plan requiring patience she was focused on. Even so, they were always rushing about places! She understood, but it was exhausting to keep up with.

Always running about with a call of "carpe diem," "you only live once," "we don't have forever," "never put off for tomorrow what you can do today," "I'm not getting any younger." Must they always be in such a hurry?

Their lives were like the blink of an eye relative to her lifespan. Despite that, they still manage to develop astonishing technology in their short and tiny little lives. Their development of vortex manipulators was like a fruit fly managing to build a smartphone.

Time Lords could sit around for millennia, doing absolutely nothing, just watching paint dry, or watching the grass grow, or trying to get something to happen in the government without killing someone. She had tried both, by the way. Both trying to get something to happen by legal measures, and by assassination. One way is significantly more fun than the others, can you guess which?

Regardless, the humans hurrying about gave her a headache sometimes, but it was usually better than the endless, mind-numbing boredom of the Time Lords. Or, that's what she tried to convince herself once her home planet was ripped out of the sky.

But anyways, the humans' haste affected the flow of Time partially, too. Well, in a way. On Gallifrey, there weren't all that many variations on timelines that could happen. Nothing major, anyways. Until the War, but on Earth, everything was in a constant state of flux. There were so many possibilities overlapping, that more traditional-thinking Time Lords couldn't handle landing a time capsule there. The Master and the Doctor, as well as most other renegades could handle it just fine, thank you.

Overall, the humans' thought on life was this: "I might as well do this now, because I just might die tomorrow, who knows."

A Gallifreyan's thought on life was: "Meh."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written at 4am at an airport. I still haven't slept, sooo.......  
> I hope you liked it have a nice day.


End file.
